Just my job
by sugar4ever
Summary: On a routine mission, SG1 meet a mysterious, wounded girl. When they get the chance to leave, Sam can't leave the girl to suffer her fate, and of course there's no way Jack can leave Sam alone on a strange planet. A bit of S/J, but mostly focused on Sam.
1. Chapter 1

"Chevron 7 – Locked." Walter announced, leaning back in his chair as General Hammond spoke into the microphone.

"Be careful out there, SG1. And remember – this is a reconnaissance mission. Talk to the villagers, establish their situation, and then get out of there. Stay on their good side; we could use all the allies we can get."

"Sure thing, sir." Colonel O'Neill replied, giving a mock salute to his CO. Major Samantha Carter, his 2IC glanced at him sceptically, amazed as ever at his flippant attitude – and his ability to get away with it. She'd grown used to it, of course, but she still marvelled at his ability to be so simple and yet so complex. Or perhaps that was just her. After seven years, she still had no idea were she stood with him. There was no denying she had feelings for him, not that she'd ever admit it. She wasn't quite sure why, because she knew that at least Daniel and Teal'c, the other members of SG1 knew there was something more between them, More even than the brotherly relationship she had with them, yet still neither made their move, or acknowledged their feelings for each other. They each followed regulations that governed their lives, in and out of work. Work, after all, had become their lives.

Jack set the pace, walking briskly through the forest, taking no time to examine the ruins scattered throughout the trees. Sam too walked fast, though a little slower than normal, taking the time to get a brief glimpse at the crumbling structures to store away for later. Daniel Jackson was furthest behind, hardly walking at all. Teal'c decided to hang back with Dr Jackson – the archaeologist wasn't known to be the luckiest of people. As Jack and Sam walked ahead, Colonel O'Neill noticed for the first time that Daniel and Teal'c weren't with them.

"Carter, weren't Daniel and Teal'c here a second ago?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. They're just behind us." Sam replied, pausing to look over her shoulder. 'Just' behind us turned out to be a slight exaggeration – Teal'c and Daniel couldn't have been closer than a couple of hundred metres. O'Neill stopped as well, turning to shout across to Daniel, who was completely immersed in his binoculars. Teal'c stood, impassive as usual, but looking slightly bored, next to him.

"Oi, Danny, Whatcha looking at!" O'Neill called, smiling at the archaeologist.

"I believe Dr Jackson is studying some of the ancient ruins." Teal'c cut in.

"Well, yes, Teal'c, but these ruins show distinctive marks of-" Daniel started, before Jack interrupted him.

"Save it for later, Danny. This is reconnaissance only. Get to know the locals, don't get our asses into any trouble, get out, got it? We can look at some piles of old stone later." Although Daniel had grown used to Jack's teasing, even grown to like it a little, it still infuriated him when he was made to pass up a chance to look at remains like these. Catching up to Jack and Sam, Teal'c and Daniel started to walk faster as the ruins disappeared into the background. Soon they were surrounded by nothing but dense forest. They walked in a companionable silence, waiting to reach the villagers the malp detected. They had spotted some signs of high-level technology, which had prompted SG1's visit.

As Sam went on and on about some technobabble, Teal'c found himself wondering about the lack of residents of the community that was growing ever closer. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, and as Sam eventually grew quiet, he knew that she felt it as well. O'Neill too was obviously tense, and it seemed to be only Daniel who was unaware of the fifth presence, as he took over from Sam, this time rambling on about the ruins he'd seen earlier. This was incredibly irritating for Sam, who was trying to source the cause of her discomfort. She would have wondered if she did this to others, but she trusted her instincts and knew she wouldn't talk over anything important. Daniel on the other hand – well.

"Shut up, Daniel." Jack cut across the archaeologist's stream of words. In the few seconds where he was unable to speak, his ego wounded, he picked up on what the other three were listening for. Teal'c stiffened, and slowly turned towards Sam. She too, was tense, looking at a space in the foliage directly in front of her, and Jack was glaring at the tree as if it were the sole cause of their agitation. All three raised their weapons, and Daniel followed suit.

"It's ok." He called out. "You can come out. We're explorers. We don't want to hurt you." Whoever was there wasn't stupid. They could see the raised weapons of all four members, and took their time in scrambling down the tree, and only emerged from the bushes after further coaxing from Daniel. The team was mildly surprised to what they might have thought was a woman, if it wasn't for her slight lack of definition in her body structure. She was clearly not a child though, and Sam placed her at fourteen or fifteen. She was shorter than Sam, but not by much, and it would be a safe bet to place her at 5'4 or 5'5. She was scarily thin, and had a scar that ran down the left hand side of her face, along her cheekbone. There were signs of bruising, but nothing was recent. Her clothes were torn, the ragged trousers she was wearing already too small, the shirt barely covering her body. It looked as though it had once been white, but it was now brown with grime and mud. When she moved, it caused the fabric to shift, revealing more scars and bruises, again faded. Despite this, the obviously malnourished girl still stood proud, stance showing she was not afraid of a fight. It was obvious that though there was little strength in the body, there was enough in the mind that controlled it to give it enough strength to continue. The team estimated that she'd been living out in the forest for around a month, if not more.

"Adrae." She introduced herself, dipping her head to them. Daniel stepped forward, ready to make the greetings, but O'Neill beat him to it.

"I'm Colonel O'Neill. Call me Jack." He started, nodding at Carter to speak.

"Major Samantha Carter. Sam."

"Teal'c"

"I'm Daniel Jackson. We are peaceful explorers from earth." He finished, replicating the head-dipping gesture she had shown them. She paused for a moment, surveying them.

"You came through the ring?" She asked eventually.

"Yes." Daniel replied.

"You are from another world?"

"Yes."

"Why do we speak the same language? How do you get the ring to transport you?" She asked, a look of curiosity crossing her face that reminded Jack of Sam when she found a particularly complicated piece of alien technology.

"Well," Sam began "When you input the correct sequence of commands into the gate system, it produces a wormhole to-"

"Carter." Jack cut her off. "You can explain later. For now," He said, turning to Adrae "Are you from the village?"

She paused before answering.

"I was. Before I ran away. Then I was outlawed. Are you headed there?" At the words 'ran away' she could sense four pairs of eyes looking at the scars across her body. She glared at them, telling them to stop.

"Yes." Jack admitted. He was getting angry at the villagers before he met them.

"In that case, let me welcome you to Ebana. It'll likely be the only welcome you'll get."

"Well, we'd best be pressing on." Jack muttered.

"Indeed. It was a pleasure to meet you, Adrae." Teal'c added, turning to the rest of SG1.

"Should we not be taking heed of Colonel O'Neill's suggestion?" Teal'c stated quietly. Sam and Daniel nodded, and the group started walking.

"I swear if I find the bastard that did that to her…" Jack muttered under his breath. From somewhere behind them, Adrae called out;

"Be careful! The villagers do not know of the ring, and will not be kind in getting information from you." When Daniel glanced around, she was nowhere to be seen. Swallowing back her warning, the team continued.


	2. Chapter 2

As the team stepped into the village, they realised Adrae had been right. People shot them curious glances as they went about their lives, but no-one stopped to greet them. When Jack called out to one of the women, she completely ignored him. When he reached out to touch a man gently on the shoulder, he ran off, scared. Eventually the team came to a stop in the center of the village.

"Hey! Anybody gonna stop and talk?" Jack called out.

"We're peaceful!" Daniel cried when no-one responded.

"What the hell is wrong with this place?" Jack muttered under his breath.

"I believe the people are making an effort to avoid us, O'Neill." Teal'c said.

"Perhaps we should ask to see some kind of leader?" Daniel suggested.

"That couldn't do any harm, sir." Sam added.

"Alright then," Jack sighed. Raising his voice, he addressed the villagers; "Is there someone in charge here? Can we talk?"

"Please." Daniel coughed.

"Please." Jack stared at Daniel, his tone sarcastic. When nobody replied, Sam suggested they went to explore the rest of the village. Before they could set off, however, they were surrounded by armed guards, pointing what looked to be short, glowing spears at them.

"Carter." Jack growled, raising his weapon along with the rest of SG1.

"I don't know sir, the weapons look to be similar to Goa'uld technology, but there are some differences – I'd say they've been adapted, sir." Sam replied, glancing nervously at the people that surrounded them.

"How much damage can these things do?" His tone was level, but his eyes were darting from one soldier to the other. Sam swallowed before replying.

"A lot, sir."

"Lower your weapons!" A voice cried, directed at SG1. Teal'c raised an eyebrow at Jack, who gave a miniscule shake of his head. SG1 stood their ground.

"We are not afraid to attack. You are trespassing." The voice cried again.

"Well, in that case, we apologise, we didn't know-" Daniel started.

"Daniel…" Jack muttered. One of the spears began to glow brighter, and in a millisecond Daniel was bent double with pain, sweat rolling down his forehead.

"Stop that!" Jack cried, but nothing happened.

"Sir…" Sam prompted, paling at the sight of Daniel writhing on the ground.

"Alright, Carter. Stand down." At the order, the weapon went back to normal, and Daniel lay still.

"We have been merciful." The voice cried again. Sam rushed over to help Daniel up. He seemed alright, but Sam guessed he'd have one hell of a bruise.

"Some mercy…" Jack muttered, glancing at Daniel and his 2IC. Teal'c had also offered a hand to Daniel. Speaking louder, and more sarcastically, if possible, he addressed the speaker. "And do we get to SEE the guy who hurt my friend?"

"You shall leave your weapons on the ground and go to the holding cell. We will decide how best to punish you. If you do not obey, we will kill your friend." The voice cried again, which seemed to act as a signal to the soldiers to grab them and roughly strip them of their weapons before leading them away from the village square.

The holding cell turned out to be a disused barn. Although at first sight, it was easy to escape from, when Teal'c tried to open the door, a shockwave sent him crashing back onto the floor. The same happened when Jack and Sam tried. The only way out was a chimney, far to high for any of them to dream of reaching, even if they all stood on each other's shoulders. They would have to wait until the doors were open. Jack instructed Teal'c, Sam and Daniel to take up positions either side of the door, ready to spring on anyone who entered. Crouching next to Sam, opposite Teal'c and Daniel, they sat in silence for a while, listening for the sound of footsteps.

"Sir, I don't think they're coming anytime soon. Besides, we'll hear them." Sam pointed out. Nodding tersely, Jack eased back until he was sitting. Following his lead, the other three sat back, not completely relaxed, but no longer as alert as they had been. Sam was right, they were bound to hear the heavy footfall of the soldiers long before they arrived.

"What did we do wrong again?" Jack asked suddenly.

"I believe the people viewed us as trespassers." Teal'c said helpfully, unaware of Jack's sarcasm.

"Trespassing?" A voice snorted.

"Adrae?" Sam asked, looking around in confusion, her eyes finally locking on the girl as she slipped out of the chimney and fell to the floor, landing on the hard floor in a crouch, apparently unharmed, yet falling from such a distance Sam couldn't help but shudder, and she could feel Daniel doing the same opposite her. Dusting herself off, Adrae rose and strutted over to them, looking down at where they were sitting.

"Having a tea party are you?" She asked disdainfully.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked suspiciously, starting to heave himself up.

"I figured you weren't the sort to stay out of trouble, decided to drop by the trial." She said casually, reaching out a hand to help Jack up. By this time the others were already standing, looking at her curiously. "You didn't have to get up, you know." She smiled, surveying the four of them.

"What trial?" Jack asked, cutting straight to the point.

"The trial Dipmuck has orchestrated to keep the villagers loyal." Adrae explained vaguely.

"Orchestrated – wait – Dipmuck? That's the name of the guy who had us arrested? Dipmuck!" Jack smirked. Adrae nodded, smiling.

"O'Neill. Would it not be more useful for us to gain further knowledge of our situation?" Teal'c reminded, barely managing to suppress a smile himself.

"Yes, yes. Just, hang on – Dipmuck?" Jack continued smirking. Sam had to admit, it was a pretty ridiculous name, but not ridiculous enough to distract her.

"When you said treason like that, what did you mean?" She persisted. Adrae looked at her in the eye, serious.

"Dipmuck does not know of any of people on this world. Aside from the villagers and myself, there isn't anyone. He knows this. He also knows you are from another world, and wants to know how to get to these other worlds. He will torture you to get the information, and more. A few years ago, he went from the leader we loved to what he is now. He was visited by a cloaked man with glowing eyes and a deep voice. I didn't overhear much, but I heard something about supplies. That was when the glowing weapons arrived. Every month, the cloaked man would arrive, and soldiers with funny marks, like yours," she nodded at Teal'c ", but different. He would collect crates of something which the soldiers carried, and then he would disappear. Dipmuck gave more and more people jobs in the mines; I got curious as to why. I followed the cloaked man, and that's how I found the ring. I figured the worthless rock we were mining was of value to this otherworldly man, and I asked Dipmuck why he was withholding information. When he refused to tell me anything, he locked me away. When I broke away, I went straight to the ring, about a moon cycle ago. Since then, I've been trying to work out how to activate it, and tell the villagers myself. Since I was disgraced and outlawed, no-one will listen to me. I need proof. Then you arrived and – well Dipmuck probably think you know more about the cloaked man and his soldiers, and he won't take no for an answer."

The team sat in silence, thinking. It sounded like the village harboured naquadriah mines, and Anubis was utilising the people. The weapons, however, still confused Sam.

"Adrae – the weapons – can you tell us anything about them?" She asked.

"Um, Carter, did you not hear the part about torturing us? You can worry about your technology later." Jack snapped, without meaning to. Looking wounded, Sam stopped talking. Adrae observed the exchange without comment, but she raised her eyebrows and glanced at Daniel and Teal'c.

"Does anybody else think this whole torture thing is getting old?" Jack sighed, glancing wistfully at the door.

"Yep." Daniel agreed, resting his head against the wall.

"I can try and get you out, but I must ask a favour." Adrae stated blankly, focusing on Sam.

"What?" Sam said, intrigued.

"Someday, maybe a few years from now, you return, and try to enlighten my people." Adrae asked.

Sam paused, glancing at Jack.

"Sir?" She asked, unsure of what to say.

"How do you intend to get us out?" Jack asked warily.

"Sir, even if we do get out, without a means of entering an IDC, we won't be able to get to earth." Sam pointed out.

"I can get you the vests and armbands that you had when you arrived." Adrae said quickly. "But, when you come back in a year, if you fail, could you take me with you?"

"I believe it is a fair offer, O'Neill." Teal'c pointed out.

"It's also the only offer we have." Jack replied.

"Give me two days." Adrae said, still looking at Sam.

"You still haven't told us your 'plan'." Jack was adamant.

"It's best you don't know." Adrae replied. Sam was looking at Adrae, and Jack could see she wanted to accept.

"Carter?" He asked.

"It's a good offer, sir. I think we should take it." Sam nodded. Jack sighed, realising that there wasn't really another option.

"Alright." He agreed. "We'll see you in two days." Beaming, Adrae stepped towards the door.

"Wait!" Sam cried "There's a shield on the door!" Adrae laughed.

"It doesn't affect my people, Sam." She smiled, slipping out of sight. Once she was gone, Jack turned to Sam.

"I don't want you getting sentimental, Carter. If we get the chance to go, we go." Jack instructed.

"Yes, sir." Sam mumbled, but she wouldn't look him in the eye.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam couldn't deny it was getting boring in the barn. Although SG1 had been imprisoned more times than she cared to remember, it didn't stop the long spells from getting boring. At least they weren't being tortured. She could at least be thankful for that. She wondered idly why no-one had come from the SGC. Even though they weren't due back for another five days, they were supposed to check in every 24 hours. Perhaps General Hammond had dismissed it, although it seemed unlike him. Jack had tried several times to knock the door down. When Adrae had left two days ago, she had closed the door behind her so as not to arouse the suspicions of the villagers. From the energy waves Sam had seen, the barrier wasn't affected by whether the door was open or closed. Jack hadn't seemed to register that though, had had continued ramming the door with his shoulders, and later idly throwing stones and debris from the ground at it. At first they had all helped, and then they'd realised their efforts were in vain, and stopped.

"I say we're due a team night." Jack announced as he slumped next to them. He had soon learnt to avoid contact with the door, but throwing missiles at it seemed to satisfy him.

"Movies at mine?" Daniel suggested, playing along.

"Perhaps we could watch Star Wars." Sam, Jack and Daniel all groaned as Teal'c announced his favourite movie ever.

"Teal'c, we watched Star wars last time. Besides it my turn to choose what we watch." Sam smiled.

"What! Sam, you know it's my turn!" Daniel cried, punching Sam light-heartedly on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah?" Sam challenged "What about the time before last. I distinctly remember watching that tomb raider-"

"Kids, kids. It's MY turn." Jack announced, glancing smugly at Sam and Daniel, who were in the beginnings of a catfight.

"What!" They cried in unison. Daniel immediately started pounding him playfully, but Sam hung back. They were, after all, on duty. Teal'c, who had been watching the chain of events with a bemused expression on his face cut in, before the situation could get awkward.

"Actually, it is my turn. After my last choice of Star Wars, we watched Major Carter's movie, then Daniel Jackson's 'Tomb raider. Then, on O'Neill's turn, I exchanged my cake for his choice to be star wars. And so, we can watch Star Wars again." Looking smug with himself, Teal'c leant back, allowing the other members of SG1 to think what he'd said through. A moment later, Sam turned to Teal'c.

"You TRADED!" She cried.

"Indeed." Turning to Jack this time, she exploded.

"YOU TRADED! WE HAVE TO WATCH STAR WARS TWICE IN A ROW BECAUSE YOU WANTED A PIECE OF CAKE!"

"It was a good piece of cake." Jack justified himself.

"Is there a problem with watching Star Wars again?" Teal'c asked curiously, a wounded look crossing his eyes for a fraction of a second. Sam sighed.

"No, Teal'c. I was only joking." When Teal'c smiled, Sam jack and Daniel sighed inwardly.

"Please, not the cowboy hat…" Daniel muttered.

"I believe I shall wear my 'cowboy' hat." Teal'c decided. Sam, Jack and Daniel groaned inwardly. Deciding to change the subject, Daniel quickly brought them back to their current situation.

"It's been two days." He sighed, rubbing his glasses, pointing out the obvious.

"I guess she's not coming." Jack said, suddenly serious.

"Indeed." SG1 sat back in silence, contemplating why Adrae hadn't come. Perhaps she'd just got scared and ran away. They could hardly blame her; she looked like she'd seen enough.

They didn't have long to think however, as the sound of heavy footfall pulled them into full awareness. Jack gestured for them to take up positions either side of the door. A few minutes later, the footsteps stopped. There was a whir, and then the doors burst open. They were ready. Sam lunged at the soldier nearest to her, wrapping her arm around his neck, hoping to starve him of oxygen just long enough for him to pass out. Teal'c had landed a swift punch to one of them, and Daniel was keeping him on the ground. Jack was dodging back, drawing the soldiers into open ground to give him a better chance at knocking enough out to escape. There weren't many guards, a dozen at the most, but they were wearing armour and had, after all, the spear weapons. Teal'c was onto his third soldier, and a cluster was gathering around him, giving Jack and Sam a chance to take them out from behind. Even Daniel managed to land a few punches. It looked like they were winning, until a man who they assumed must be Dipmuck stepped forward, holding a glowing spear. He aimed it at Teal'c, who pulled one of the soldiers in front of him just in time. While Dipmuck was distracted, Sam, who was closest, pulled his legs, sending him tumbling onto the floor. She started trying to wrestle the spear off him, with Jack, Daniel and Teal'c keeping the soldiers away.

With a cry, Sam let go of the spear. It had become white hot, and had sent out some sort of energy beam, knocking her over. She felt no pain, other than were it had burnt her hands, so she guessed it wasn't the same beam that had hit Daniel. She struggled to get up, but realised she was paralysed from the neck downwards. She cursed inwardly, desperately hoping the effects were only temporary. Out of the corner of her eye she saw first Daniel, then Jack, and finally Teal'c brought down by a similar burst of light. Looking up into the leering face of Dipmuck, she just had time to register herself being hoisted upward before she passed out.


End file.
